


Day Two: Hurt/Comfort for Chris

by firstdegreefangirl



Series: Christopher Diaz is a National Hero Week 2020 [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: But he doesn't have to do it alone, Chris has an ear infection, Christopher Diaz is a national hero, Eddie is at the end of his rope, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Firefam Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Christopher Diaz, Sickfic, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:42:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstdegreefangirl/pseuds/firstdegreefangirl
Summary: Chris has an ear infection, so he and Eddie are on a string of sleepless nights. Until they're not anymore.
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Christopher Diaz is a National Hero Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712986
Comments: 10
Kudos: 217





	Day Two: Hurt/Comfort for Chris

“Daaaaaad!” Eddie sighs when he hears his son cry out, pulling a t-shirt on as he goes down the hall and tries to smooth down his hair.

“What’s up, mijo?”He pushes the door open to see Christopher sitting up in bed, rubbing his ear against his shoulder.

“My ear hurts,” he whines, and Eddie moves forward to sit on the edge of his bed.

“I know it does. The medicine should start working in a couple days and help get the pressure down, but until then we’ve just got to do our best and get through it. Want to try a hot rag again?”

Chris nods. “Can we sit on the couch? It hurts when I lay down.”

“Yeah, we can sit on the couch.” Eddie tries to hide his exhaustion as he passes Christopher his crutches.

It’s getting harder to act like he’s not tired, though. It’s been three days since Chris has slept through the night, and they’ve just hit a record high of … three hours, according to the superhero alarm clock on his nightstand. He knows that once they go downstairs, neither of them is going to sleep anymore tonight. At least he’s off work tomorrow, and Chris still can’t go back to school until he kicks the low-grade fever the antibiotics have yet to counteract. 

Together, they walk down the hallway, and Eddie makes sure Christopher is settled in the middle of the couch with a blanket before leaning the crutches against the coffee table.

“I’ll go get a washcloth and we’ll sit together, alright?” He waits for a nod, and heads back up the hall to soak a rag in hot water, wringing it out before he folds it in fourths and rejoins his son, who’s pulling at his ear and pouting. “Right here, buddy. Here we go.” 

Eddie sits down next to him and wraps his arm around Christopher’s shoulders, helping guide him to lean against his chest, the wet rag resting on top of his shirt.

“Hurts, Dad.” 

“I know, mijo. The steam should help, and if we point it down, the pressure might drain some.” Eddie runs his hand through Chris’s soft curls and sighing. “Close your eyes, see if you can fall asleep.”

“It hurts too much.” Chris wiggles against Eddie’s side, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Woke me up.”

“I know,” Eddie runs a hand down his face and makes his peace with another sleepless night, sitting on the couch and holding his son, hoping he’ll feel better by morning. “If it doesn’t pop by bedtime tomorrow, we’ll go back to the doctor, ‘kay?”

“Mm’kay.” Christopher pushes his face against Eddie’s shirt, and Eddie feels the tears soaking through the fabric. 

“Hey, you’ll be alright. We’ll get on the other side of this before you know it.” The words aren’t good enough; he still feels horrible that he can’t do anything more than placate his son and hold a washcloth against his head. But there’s nothing else anyone can do, no more medicines to be taken, no fatherhood magic that can suck the ear infection away before Chris’s immune system fights it off. 

So they sit, together, Eddie’s hand rubbing gently at his son’s scalp while he sniffles quietly. And they’re still there, together, when the sun comes up a few hours later.

Eddie makes it through to lunch the next day before he’s ready to give up. He’d never be upset with Christopher for needing him, ever, but he hasn’t even managed a full night of sleep over the last three combined. So after he makes sure Chris is set with a bowl of mac and cheese and Finding Dory, he drops into a kitchen chair and fires off a handful of texts. 

“Hey, Chris,” Eddie slides the empty bowl away, passing him a popsicle in the hopes of providing at least a little more hydration. “What do you say to moving the sickbed down to the station, going to visit Bobby and Chimney and Hen and Buck?”

He smiles a little and nods, but the relative lack of enthusiasm is a testament to how terrible he must feel, and Eddie’s heart breaks again. Chris turns back to the movie, while Eddie packs a small bag with snacks, a couple of books and his antibiotics. 

“Fresh PJs before we go? You don’t have to get dressed, but clean clothes might feel nice.” Chris nods again, but doesn’t make any effort to get up, so Eddie meets him back in the living room with a new set of pajamas. His movements are unwieldy and lethargic as Eddie pulls the existing shirt up over his head and helps wrangle the new one on. “There we go, ready for pants?” Eddie helps him stand up and step from one set of bottoms to the other, then hands him his crutches and switches off the TV. “Ready?”

Another nod, and they head for the truck, Eddie following more closely behind Christopher than usual, in case he wobbles too far one way or the other and throws himself even further off balance. The drive to the station is silent, save for the occasional low whine as the truck jostles Chris over a bump.

“Sorry, mijo, you good?” He whimpers again, but nods at Eddie in the rearview mirror. 

When they’re parked and Eddie goes to lift Christopher down from his seat, he clings to his dad’s neck and wraps his legs around Eddie’s torso. 

“Alright, alright, I can take a hint.” Eddie stands back up and adjusts the backpack strap slung over one shoulder. When he opens the door, he sees Bobby waiting on the mezzanine. 

“Hey, Cap,” he calls and waves carefully, kicking the door closed behind him.

“Hey, Diaz.” Bobby comes down and joins them, brushing a hand over Christopher’s head. “Hear you’re feeling pretty crummy.”

“Yeah. My ear hurts.” 

“That’s no fun. If you’re up for watching, your buddy Buck is creaming Chimney at Mario Karts.” He looks up at that, leaning back to look at Eddie.

“Dad? C’n we watch?”

“Sure.” Eddie carries him into the lounge, settling them both on the sofa beside Buck.

“Hey, little man!” Buck looks down for a second when Christopher squirms off of Eddie’s lap to sit between them. “Bobby said you were coming ov—CHIM!” He sticks his tongue out at the other man, who’s laughing from his position in the armchair. 

“Hi, Bucky.” Christopher reaches up to tug at his ear again. “My ear hurts.” 

“Oh no! You think it’s gonna fall off?” Christopher shakes his head and laughs a little bit.

“Dad says it’ll feel better soon.” 

“Well your dad’s pretty smart, so I bet he’s right.” Buck lifts an arm up and lets Christopher curl up against his chest. 

“Yeah …" he trails off. “Are you winnin’?”

“I was, before Chimney tried to cheat with that banana peel.”

“It’s not cheating if they give me the offensive weapons!” Chimney jerks the remote up and mutters under his breath as his avatar topples off of the racetrack. 

Eddie watches a couple more rounds, but feels his eyelids growing heavy. He’s trying not to drift off, every fiber of his being telling him that he needs to stay awake in case his son needs him, but it’s a fight he’s losing quickly. He looks over to see that Christopher seems to have fallen asleep against Buck’s chest without anyone noticing, and he closes his eyes for a brief moment. 

The next thing he knows, there’s a hand clapping him on his shoulder, and he jumps, opening his eyes to see that the television screen is blank.

“Diaz.” He turns around when he hears Bobby’s voice. “Go lay down.”

“Hmm? No, I-it’s fine, Cap. Just resting my eyes for a second. I’m good.”

“When did you sleep last?”

“Last night. Got a few hours, before he was up again.” Eddie shifts his weight, turning to face Bobby, and yawns.

“And before that?”

“Couple nights. Not a big deal.”

“Diaz. You’re not on duty, so I can’t make it an order, but there’s a bunk room open and you look like you could use the rest.” Bobby pulls his hand back, but keeps staring at Eddie.

“It’s fine, I’ll … I can sleep when he’s feelin’ better.” He looks over his shoulder at Chris, still passed out beside Buck, who’s now flipping through a magazine. 

“Dude, he’s fine. He hasn’t moved in close to an hour. I’ve got him.” Buck looks up and smiles, running his hand up and down Chris’s arm. “Seriously, go sleep. I’ll come find you when he wakes up.” 

“You’re sure?” He glances between Buck and Bobby.

“I’ll keep an eye on them both. Go, rest.” Bobby nudges him. “This is what we’re here for. Remember, when you don’t know where to take him, this is the answer. Besides,” He chuckles. “If Buck’s being a pillow, he’s not making any messes around here.” 

Eddie doesn’t want to give in, doesn’t want to admit that he can’t do this on his own. But the allure of sleep is too strong, and he’s too tired to argue.

“Alright, I’ll lay down for an hour.” Eddie stands up. “Seriously, come get me if he needs anything, but I’ll set an alarm.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find you if we need to, but you need the rest. Listen to your body, alright?”

Eddie nods, stumbling toward the bunk room. He’s asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, sure that he’ll be awake again within the hour.

But when he opens his eyes, when he cracks the door of the bunk room, it’s gone dark outside. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and heads back for the lounge, changing course when he hears familiar laughter from the kitchen.

“Well look at that, Chris. It’s Sleeping Beauty.” Buck looks up when he sees Eddie approach, and Christopher turns around in his chair. He looks rested, more alert than he has since Eddie picked him up from his Abuela’s after he had to leave school early. 

“Yeah, what’s that make you? One of the fairy godmothers?” He waits for Buck to roll his eyes and bends down to kiss Chris’s head. “How’s your ear, mijo?”

“Better. Still hurts, but not as much. Bobby’s making brownies. He said you took a nap.” 

“Just a little one. So did you, right?” 

“Mhmm.” Christopher looks like he’s getting ready to speak again, but the timer goes off and he turns back toward Bobby. “Brownies?!”

“We’ll let them cool a little bit, but soon, kiddo.” Bobby sits the baking dish on top of the stove and turns around. “How you feeling, Diaz?”

“Like a new man, Cap. Seriously, thanks for keeping an eye on him. Good to know there’s people looking out.”

“What do I keep telling you? We take care of each other. And each other’s kids.” Bobby sits down across the table from Chris. “It’s a lot more fun when he’s feeling better, though.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Find me on tumblr @firstdegreefangirl  
> xoxo


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